Repercussions of the Truth: Truth Is
by a.lakewood
Summary: This is my spin on "We Hold These Truths." I’m not very good at summaries, but I will tell you that this ends up as an Ephram/Bright story. If that isn’t your cup of tea, I’m sure there are many other stories out there to read. Otherwise, enjoy.


Title: Repercussions of the Truth: Truth Is  
  
Author's Note: This Everwood-fic is based on "We Hold These Truths." Some of the dialogue will be familiar, but the context and some of the events aren't the same. Reviews are much appreciated.  
  
Summary: This is my spin on the previously mentioned episode. I'm not very good at these things, but I will tell you that this ends up as an Ephram/Bright story. If that isn't your cup of tea, I'm sure there are many other stories out there to read. Otherwise, enjoy.  
  
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:.  
  
Ephram had just gotten off the phone with Amy when Nina knocked on the outside door that led to the kitchen. She soon entered and set a plate on the counter. "Hey," she said. "I made the kids a snack and thought I'd bring some over to you."  
  
"Thanks," Ephram replied. "Delia isn't too much trouble, is she?"  
  
"No. Not at all. She's been keeping Sam entertained - they're currently protecting my living room from mutant raptors."  
  
Ephram laughed.  
  
"Heard anything from your dad yet?" she questioned.  
  
"No, but these things take, like, ten hours."  
  
"You're pretty used to this, huh?"  
  
"I suppose. But this is different - I usually don't know the person."  
  
"You know Colin?"  
  
"Not exactly. I know Amy."  
  
"Nice girl. She watches Sam for me every now and then."  
  
"So..what was Colin like?"  
  
"He's a charmer. The type of kid who would forget to mow your lawn for two weeks, but, when he comes, you pay him for three. I think he was all-state football. Pretty smart, too."  
  
Ephram had taken two bottles of water out of the refrigerator and handed one to Nina. "So, he's basically God?"  
  
"No. I think you'd like him. He'd like you, too." After a moment, "How's Amy doing?"  
  
"I'm not sure. She sounded odd on the phone earlier, but.." he shrugged as he trailed off.  
  
"She probably needs a friend right now."  
  
"I don't know if I'm the best person for that."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"There are some issues.."  
  
"Like..?"  
  
"She's beautiful and amazing. Not to mention, completely out of my league. She agrees..If she wanted me at the hospital with her, she could've asked me."  
  
"Could she have?" She paused momentarily to let him think. "If you think you could handle going to the hospital, go. Chances are, Ephram, she doesn't feel like she has the right to ask you. If you don't want to go, that's okay, too. You don't have to be the one to help her through this. Just decide what kind of friend you want to be."  
  
"I forgot how good women are at these things."  
  
Nina and Ephram laughed.  
  
.:*:.  
  
Meanwhile, Bright was heading down the stairs, pulling his coat on, getting ready to leave. "I'm going out, Dad," he said as he opened the front door.  
  
"Wait, Bright," Harold said. "Come here a second."  
  
"I really don't feel like talking right now."  
  
"No..I want to tell you something - about Dr. Brown."  
  
"I know - he's the axis of evil."  
  
"Well, yes, but he's also an unbelievable surgeon. I can't believe I'm saying this, but were lucky to have him in our community. If he weren't so annoying, that is."  
  
"Is there a point to this?"  
  
"Yes..Colin is in good hands - the best."  
  
"No! I don't want to talk about Colin!"  
  
"I understand.."  
  
"You don't! I - forget it. I'll be back later."  
  
"Bright.."  
  
Harold Abbott was answered by the slam of the front door.  
  
.:*:.  
  
Ephram decided he had spent long enough thinking about going to Denver to be with Amy. He was going to go. He wanted to be there for her, with her. He put a few games into his backpack, as well as his CD player, then headed downstairs. Grabbing his keys off the table in the hallway, he opened the door and came face-to-face with Bright. "Oh, I, uh, hi? Wha- what are you doing here? At my house?" he stammered in surprise.  
  
Bright didn't look anything like his normal self. He looked lost in thought. He lifted his gaze to Ephram's after a minute. "I..I didn't know who to talk to.."  
  
Still dumbfounded, Ephram opened the door wider and stepped aside. "Come in."  
  
Bright entered the Brown's home and heard Ephram shut the door behind him. "Amy likes you, so you must be okay..She says you're a good listener." Bright turned to look at Ephram.  
  
"Um..I can be..Let's go into the living room." When Ephram took a seat on the couch, Bright sat beside him.  
  
Bright had a terrified expression etched across his face now. "I remember everything about that day. Last Fourth of July - the accident..I always have. I never told anyone..He took some stuff from his dad's liquor cabinet - we were drinking..after the ceremony, a couple of guys wanted to go off-roading up at Miller's Field..We took Colin's dad's truck - I know we shouldn't have..then Colin let me drive.."  
  
"Bright?" Ephram tentatively set a hand on Bright's knee, trying to get his attention, but the older boy was lost in the tragic events of what happened that day.  
  
"I was driving when the accident happened. Me - not Colin.The sergeant assumed that Colin must have been driving from the position he was in - where he landed. I let him think it..And we were drinking.I should've told someone then.." He looked into Ephram's eyes for the first time since he started his confession. "If he dies, it's my fault; it'll be like I killed my best friend..I wanted to tell someone when it happened.." Bright started to cry, covering his face with his hands and leaning towards Ephram. "I'm so sorry.."  
  
Ephram awkwardly wrapped his arms around Bright. "It's okay," he said soothingly, rubbing Bright's back lightly. "I know how you feel..My mom died in a car accident on her way to my piano recital. For a long time, I thought it was my fault. By blaming yourself, you're trying to make sense out of something that will never make sense..Truth is, it was what it was - an accident."  
  
A couple of minutes later, Bright looked up at Ephram, eyes puffy, looking vulnerable. He gently kissed Ephram's mouth, closing his eyes, then slowly deepened the kiss. After a moment, Bright broke the kiss, pulling away for breath. He softly kissed the side of Ephram's neck. "Thank you.."  
  
"For?" Ephram questioned uncertainly in a whisper.  
  
"For listening..and helping me understand.."  
  
"I..I was heading to Denver.."  
  
Bright sat up and stared at Ephram. "Why?"  
  
"Amy called earlier..I think she needs someone right now.."  
  
"I..oh." Bright looked flustered. He stood from the couch and began to head for the door.  
  
Ephram grabbed Bright's hand. "You could come with me," he offered.  
  
Bright turned towards him. "You sure?"  
  
"Yeah.." He glanced at his watch. "The bus leaves in nine minutes, so we better get going."  
  
Ephram closed the door behind himself and Bright, and Bright kissed him again, smiling. Ephram sheepishly returned the smile.  
  
.:*:.  
  
Ephram and Bright found Amy at a vending machine. "You're holding up the line," Ephram said.  
  
"Ephram, Bright!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?..together?"  
  
"We initially came for some type of sustenance, but, while you've been standing there, my stomach has started to digest itself."  
  
"Not funny, Ephram Brown." Amy made her selection, then led the boys to a table in the waiting area.  
  
Ephram set his backpack down and started to pull out the games he had placed inside it earlier. "Let's see..We've got Travel Boggle, Travel Checkers, Travel Scrabble..and Clue."  
  
"What, no travel-sized Clue? Um..how about Scrabble?"  
  
"Good choice." He pulled out a pocket-sized dictionary and handed it to Bright. "You might need this more than me."  
  
Bright rolled his eyes at Ephram and hit him playfully. "I'm not as stupid as you think I am."  
  
Amy was surprised and amused by the interaction between her brother and Ephram.  
  
"Letters?" Ephram asked, pulling the pouch from his bag.  
  
.:*:.  
  
A couple of hours later, Amy was asleep in a chair and Ephram and Bright were sitting next to each other, reading magazines. "There's something I need to do," Bright said, seemingly out of nowhere. He closed the magazine and stood.  
  
"What? Ephram followed him, realizing what was going on when he saw the couple in another waiting room which Bright had led him to. He squeezed Bright's hand reassuringly, then took a seat in the chair outside the doorway.  
  
Ephram heard low murmurs, but no words until Mr. Hart questioned loudly with disbelief, "You were driving?!"  
  
"Yes, sir," Bright said, no longer able to look the man, sitting before him, his best friend's father, in the eye.  
  
"And you waited until today to tell us?! I want to understand this - four months after everything's said and done, and you tell me Colin wasn't driving? I don't - it doesn't make sense..What does it mean?"  
  
"It just means that Colin wasn't driving," Mrs. Hart said calmly. "He was still in the truck - he still got hurt. Nothing changes."  
  
"No - something has to change. That shouldn't be Colin, my son, in there." Mr. Hart abruptly stood and left.  
  
"I know what I did was horrible," Bright began, "and that I can never apologize enough for what happened."  
  
"You're the first person to take responsibility for that day," Mrs. Hart said quietly.  
  
"I should've said something sooner."  
  
"I could have, too."  
  
"You weren't there.."  
  
"Maybe not.maybe I didn't know what was going on. But, as I look back on that day, I think that I knew. About the drinking and Colin taking the keys.."  
  
"I miss him," Bright said after a long silence.  
  
"Me, too."  
  
Bright stood, gently laying his hand on Mrs. Hart's shoulder before leaving. He was kind of surprised to find Ephram still outside the door waiting for him.  
  
They walked back to the other waiting room without conversation.  
  
.:*:.  
  
Amy awoke to Bright's voice. "Wake up, Amy..Ephram says we should hear something soon.."  
  
She yawned and slowly sat up. After blinking a few times and adjusting to the brightness of the room, she stood and stretched. Hearing someone enter the room, she turned towards the sound. "Dr. Brown! How is he?" she asked.  
  
"He's out of surgery now," Andy started. "If you want to see him.." He nodded in the direction of the door.  
  
"Yes! Okay!" She hugged him briefly. "Thank you Dr. Brown."  
  
Andy smiled at Ephram, who smiled back, then led Amy from the room.  
  
"Do you want to go see Colin?..Or, did you want to head back to Everwood?" Ephram questioned as he began to put the games away.  
  
"I think I've caused enough trouble for one day..Let's go home."  
  
.:*:.  
  
As the bus pulled to a stop in Everwood, Ephram smiled, looking at his and Bright's hands intertwined. They had been like that since they left Denver. The walk to Ephram's house was fairly quiet. After unlocking the door, Ephram turned around to look at Bright. "Do you wanna come in for a while?"  
  
"Yeah," Bright smiled. "I'd like that."  
  
As soon as Ephram had closed the door, Bright's lips were on his. They quickly made their way to the couch as the kiss deepened. As Bright covered Ephram's lean body with his own, pressing the younger boy against the cushions, Ephram tore his mouth away. "You..you know this won't go further than kissing, right?" he asked, breathing heavily.  
  
"Yeah," Bright replied before once again claiming Ephram's mouth.  
  
After what seemed like at least an hour had passed, Ephram and Bright's mouths were bruised from all the kissing and Ephram was now above Bright. They were content, enjoying the silence and the feel of each other. "Bright?" Ephram questioned quietly.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I thought you hated me."  
  
"No, I never really hated you..Maybe jealous sometimes - not that I'll ever admit that again..I'm sorry if I ever hurt you."  
  
"I..it's okay. I'm okay..But why would you have been jealous?"  
  
"When I first saw you, I thought you were cute - with the hair and everything. I made a stupid comment, my friend did, too. And you made a really good comeback. You got my attention as well as Amy's..Even though her reasons for becoming you friend, in the beginning, were on a..secret agenda, she really likes you as a friend. You have this way of growing on people." He lightly kissed Ephram's forehead. After a moment, "What about Amy? You and Amy?"  
  
"She has Colin again. My dad performs miracles. Well, at least when he's in the operating room, anyway. He'll pull through and be okay. But, Amy..she only likes me as a friend. Never anything more."  
  
"Her loss."  
  
"Where are we?" Ephram asked a few minutes later.  
  
"In your living room on the couch," Bright said.  
  
"Thanks for pointing that out, Captain Obvious. But, I meant where do we stand?"  
  
"Oh..Where do you want us to stand?"  
  
"I'm not sure..This is all new to me. I like this..whatever we have."  
  
"Me, too."  
  
"So..are we..?"  
  
"Are we? Oh! If you want to.."  
  
"I'd like to see where this goes."  
  
"Me, too. But I think my friends will need a little time to get used to us being friends..In public, we'll just be friends, okay? I don't' think the people of Everwood are ready ar able to handle something like this. The people here aren't as open to things like this like the people in, say, New York, might be."  
  
"I understand."  
  
"But when we're not out there.." He kissed Ephram. "You know, I should probably get home. My dad's most likely worrying about me. I need to tell him what happened."  
  
Ephram stood, then led Bright to the front door. "I'm glad you came to talk to me."  
  
"So am I." Bright opened the door, kissed Ephram, and headed outside. "I'll call you tomorrow," he said smiling.  
  
Ephram smiled as he watched Bright walk away. For the first time since he had moved to Everwood, Amy wasn't the cause of his happiness.  
  
el fin  
  
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:.  
  
There may, possibly, be a sequel, or a follow-up story to this one. Depending on reviews and/or my ambition, I might write one. Whichever motivates me. Thanks for reading, and, hopefully, you enjoyed it. Questions, comments, constructive criticism..it's all welcome. 


End file.
